After the huge success of Angry Birds and the number of spin-off titles and versions, Rovio has announced a true sequel to Angry Birds that will launch later this month: Bad Piggies. The new addition to the franchise will reverse the roles and allow players to play as the pigs for the first time on September 27 for iOS, Android, and Mac. PC, Windows 8, and Windows Phone versions are also in the works.

The announcement boasts that Bad Piggies will sport “all new, never-before-seen gameplay,” although it’s unclear at this point what this may entail.

Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio, delved into the reason for allowing players to take control of the pigs this time around:

“There’s a lot of empathy towards the lovable enemies from the Angry Birds games, and we’ve been constantly asked: what about the pigs’ side of the story? Bad Piggies gives you the chance to play as the second-most-loved characters in the Angry Birds universe, and explore this rich world through their green eyes.”

Rovio’s EVP Games Petri Järvilehto also stated:

“We’ve had a lot of fun creating a totally new and unique gameplay experience. There’s so much more to these pigs than what is seen in the Angry Birds games, and Bad Piggies is the first glimpse into what’s going on in the imaginative and ingenious minds of the pigs.”

Analysis: The mobile sensation that is Angry Birds has truly been felt by gamers and non-gamers alike all over the world, and nobody really expected Rovio to stop churning out games in a franchise that has been downloaded over a billion times across multiple platforms. The brand is a moneymaker if I have ever saw one. I am, however sceptical, to the claims of “never-before-seen gameplay” and how different of a direction Rovio has decided to take the franchise.

It will be interesting to see whether it will capture the general public’s attention again and experience the same amount of success as Angry Birds. Either way, I’m personally hoping that Bad Piggies turns out to be a dating sim.

About Nathan Wood

When he picked up a controller on that fateful day at the age of 6, Nathan had no idea how quickly it would captivate him. Enjoying a wide range of games, he is up for anything as long as it is of good quality, interesting or laughably bad. When not playing or writing about video games, he enjoys music, film, basketball and art. He is currently completing his last year of his IB diploma before mastering the great land known only as: University.